


The Power of Words

by QuartzFox



Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Healing, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Puns, Open Mouth/Insert Foot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-04-28 07:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5083486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuartzFox/pseuds/QuartzFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started when the world I had built for myself fell in around me, and it was a long time before I realized I wasn’t alone, in more ways than one.  But I wasn’t the only one who was suffering, either… and there was one whose heart ached for solace even more than my own.<br/>(This story fleshes out Leon’s proposal event, with some bonus appearances, especially Doug and Dylas [with maybe some shipment implied there, with or without Frey] as our Rune Factory 4 friends learn about each other and try to overcome some misunderstandings…  Yes there are spoilers.)<br/>(Originally posted on Tumblr as part of the 2015 Harvest Moon Big Bang.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: A Promise to Myself

It feels like it’s been forever. Every time I come home, I keep expecting to hear the sounds of a Native Dragon in the next room, but there’s only silence. 

For a while, I would cry myself to sleep every night. I wandered around aimlessly, just going through the motions of running my farm… Frequently I’d go out into the wilds, thinking I’d send some of the wild monsters back to the Forest of Beginnings with messages for her. But she wouldn’t have answered any of them.

How could she?

Eventually, I started feeling things again. Amber, Dylas, Dolce, and Leon all fully shared my pain; most of my time was spent in silent companionship with one or another of them at first, sometimes more than one. But life goes on, no matter what we think we want… And I began to realize that the time I spent with them all didn’t just mean a lot to me. 

I came out of my daze a year after she had…disappeared. When I woke up the morning after the anniversary, I felt like I could start to face reality again.

Within a few days, Leon and Dylas had both staked their claims on pieces of my heart, and I was glad to spend time with them as something more than just friends. We had fun, but as often as not after a date with one or the other of them, it would end up that the three of us would run through the old, now familiar places, fighting blindly so as to hide our tears. Sometimes I could feel them sizing each other up as competition when they thought I wasn’t looking. There was a terrible, mean part of me that enjoyed that. It seemed Vishnal had the right of it when I’d jokingly tried to crawl into his bed one slow afternoon, shortly after my arrival in town: I was a bad, bad princess. I’d overheard Blossom telling Volkanon one day that it was a good thing; it showed that I was recovering. 

Becoming involved with them made me more open to hanging out with the others in town – and of course, being with Dylas meant a lot of exposure to Doug. If they weren’t hanging out together and arguing, they were griping about each other. Many times I had gone to the store to visit with Blossom and pick up some groceries only to run into Doug, who would ask me what I thought I was doing with “that one trick pony” any time Dylas’ name came up, which was often… And usually his own fault. I started wondering if maybe he was jealous… Though I wasn’t sure which of us he wanted to keep for himself, Dylas or me.

We all knew that he and Dylas liked each other, but Dylas showed no signs of interest in Doug once he and I started dating. It confused the poor dwarf, I could tell. One day I found him looking distracted, and I ended up asking about his type. 

Well, he told me. 

That evening I took him on a wild whirlwind “training spree” through some of the toughest areas I knew, and he was miles stronger by the end of it. I figured he’d need to be stronger if he wanted to keep up with me… Then I told him I wanted to be with him, and he said he’d answer the following morning. 

I wasn’t sure if he had said yes to me for my own sake until the end of our first date. We were at the smithy, and no one else was around. I wanted to be closer to him, so I moved towards him… And damned if he wasn’t the most forthright man I’d met. Oh, Dylas was sweet and honest, but so insecure and uncertain. Leon was quite the opposite, a little standoffish, sometimes too cocksure and fond of teasing, but Doug was right up front about holding me close in return. 

How in the world was I ever going to decide between them? My three wonderful men. My snarky, sexy fox; my sweet sullen stallion; and my hotheaded redhead. A more unlikely trio of suitors would be hard to imagine.

And then I thought of something I could do. It was Leon who gave me the idea, though he’d never know if I could help it... I made a promise to myself, I guessed the way he had told me that he promised himself he’d never marry. I swore not to even consider getting married until Venti returned.

And at the time, I had every intention of sticking to my word.


	2. What Words Can Do

Life went on as ever it had… Then came the day there was a particular conversation at Arthur’s workshop. 

No matter where they were, when all the young men of Selphia got together, their conversations were bound to be interesting. I had to wonder what they talked about when I wasn’t around. The things they discussed when I was were bad enough… Like the time Doug and Dylas put an end to the guys’ lunch by breaking into an arm wrestling match that left the two of them all but unconscious on the floor when I came back to the restaurant later that afternoon… 

That day, though, was a bit different. When I got there, Leon was teasing the poor Prince with misdirecting words to make Arthur think Leon was talking about glasses, getting the poor thing all worked up for nothing. Leon was like that, even with me; only sometimes would he let down his guard, and then only when we were alone. He loved to tease. Sometimes he was a little cruel, but I don’t think it was intentional. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, but he wasn’t planning to let anyone get close to him either. It still amazed me that he’d deigned to become my boyfriend. I still didn’t know how much I actually meant to him. He’d told me in so many words that he would never marry me… And yet, I still loved him.

In spite of it all. 

Dylas was so different from Leon. He didn’t always get when he was being teased, and in fact brought out the side of me that was more like the other man. Sometimes I just couldn’t help trying to provoke him. When Dylas walked into the room that day, he heard Leon’s conversation with Arthur and snorted in disgust, just in time for Doug and Kiel to walk in. Vishnal came over at the same moment from the restaurant, and I hailed him to avoid Doug’s inevitable comment. I loved all my boyfriends, though I remained bit nervous. Everyone in town knew of my choices, and though nobody seemed to mind too much, I wanted them all to stay friendly with each other.

And here I used to think I was a one-man sort of woman.

Sensing what was going on, Vishnal greeted me gratefully; I suspected he still wished, in spite of everything, to be more than friends with me, but so far he hadn’t given me any direct signs. Dylas and Doug were toe to toe, glaring daggers at one another despite the foot difference in height, and he decided to try to intervene. Poor innocent boy…

“Doug and Dylas… You two are actually very close friends, aren’t you?” 

Leon stopped pestering Arthur and they both turned to watch as Doug’s outrage spoke faster than Dylas’. “Wha?!”

“People do say the best type of friend to have is the type who’s not afraid to pull any punches,” Kiel added helpfully, plying his best innocent smile as the short redhead grew redder.

“That’s preposterous!” Dylas looked more taken aback than angry, and it was adorable. I opened my mouth to intercede, though, before things got messy…

“And true.” Arthur looked as innocent as Kiel. “Everybody knows you two are like bread and butter.”

Oh no. This was not going to be pretty. Goodbye, Arthur, it was nice knowing you.

“Don’t be stupid! How the hell could I ever be friends with this dumbass?!” Doug glared at the true Prince, but he looked more nervous than angry himself.

Dylas had found his center, though. Anger now tinged his eyes as he agreed (for once!) with Doug. “That’s right! You tell ‘em, you mush-brained moron!”

“You bet I will!” Doug declared, pushing up his sleeves as he advanced on Arthur, neglecting to notice that he was agreeing with Dylas for two sentences in a row.

Just as Doug came within hitting range, Leon came to the rescue… sort of. “You guys should just get married, right here and right now.”

Silence fell. Vishnal uttered a sorry excuse for a half-laugh that sounded more like he was actually saying, “Aha ha ha…” 

Doug and Dylas turned as one to Leon. 

“You just shut up!” they both yelled in unison. 

“Uhh, Princess, I think we should be going,” Vishnal said, attempting to take me by the arm. 

“Good idea. This is going to get messy,” Kiel said, reaching for my hand. (It wasn’t the first time he’d tried to hold my hand, either.) 

“What, was it something I said?” Leon asked, his expression as bland as could be, but the mood had changed: their fury, more than half mockery a moment before, suddenly blazed hot. 

“Well, it’s not as though he actually thinks you two will get married,” Arthur tried to reason with them, even as he frantically tried to get the papers and assorted office paraphernalia on his desk out of harm’s way. 

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, you mangy dog,” growled Doug. 

“What, do you think you should get to keep her for yourself?” Dylas snarled.

The others gasped. Even Arthur froze. 

My throat closed. I couldn’t breathe. 

“Ouch,” Kiel said softly, and not just for Leon.

The former Guardian’s face had lost all expression. He might have been carved from stone, and we all felt the temperature drop. None of them would look at him.

None of them would look at me, either. 

Dylas’ face was red; clearly he regretted the words as soon as they emerged. Even Doug was shaking his head slowly, but Leon acted as though he saw none of them.

“You are fools,” he said, and there was no tone to his suddenly soft voice. Silence followed as he swept out of the room, all the dignity of his former office of Dragon Priest wrapped about him like a shroud.

And of all of them, only I had any idea how close to his reality that image was.

I could never have imagined that their apparently innocuous little spat would take such a turn. I’d had no idea that either of them felt that way. I’d thought that they were friends with Leon.

I’d thought they thought better of me.

“I… I can’t believe you…” I managed to choke out. I was hot and cold with anger and hurt and disgust and fear and a hundred thousand other emotions. How could I have thought I loved any of them? And then I was outside, and the stupid sunshine was bright in my face though my heart was a raging typhoon. I ran.

And I kept running, following I did not know what or whom, as my feet carried me through my fields and Venti’s empty space and out through the town square and over the bridge into the wilds, and I kept running and running and running, following a random path, until I ran right into something solid… and warm…

His breath knocked out of him, Leon nearly lost his balance. I hadn’t even seen him, hadn’t even known where I was running, just as long as I got far, far away from all of them… Until I careened smack into him.

“Frey!” His voice reached me even as our collision hadn’t, and my eyes opened.

Whatever dignity he’d worn was tattered. He always stood with his arms wrapped protectively around himself, but now he was wound so tight I was surprised he hadn’t shattered himself into a thousand pieces. 

“Leon…” My throat was still tight and I was short of breath from running. No wonder; we were by Keeno Lake! 

“Why did you come here?” His voice was all edges and broken pieces, held together only by his formidable willpower.

I couldn’t answer, only shook my head. Breathing was not getting easier.

“Did you come to find me here?”

Again, I shook my head. Even if I could breathe, I knew that the words wouldn’t come. I wouldn’t lie to him. 

“You just ran.” 

I nodded this time, grateful that he was speaking for me, for both of us, and so afraid to cry in front of him. The last thing he needed, I was sure, was for me to cry. 

“So did I.” I looked up at him again, and was surprised that he wasn’t actually vibrating. 

“Leon…?”

He turned away. Every muscle I could see was tight; pride and pain had him tied in so many knots it hurt to look at him. It was a long moment before he spoke; my breath was almost back to normal, save for the tightness in my own throat.

“You’re all I have, Frey. I can’t get close to anyone. Even… What you and I have, I feel even that can’t really be real. I told you that when you asked me to be with you.” I could tell that the words were even more painful for him to speak than they were to hear. “I can’t explain any better now. You should be with one of them. Both, what do I care?” 

We both knew he was lying. He cared. And that was the problem. I didn’t understand why, but that was the heart of it.

“I care. And I don’t care.”

He looked at me at last, utterly confused through his pain. “Frey, sometimes you make no sense.”

“I care about you, and I know you care about me, and I don’t care that we can’t really be together in the end, if that’s the only way I can be with you at all,” I said, breathless now from the typhoon in my heart and my own audacity. “If you won’t marry me, I don’t care, I’ll date all of you if it comes down to it or keeps the peace or something, but my heart will always belong to you!” I squeezed my eyes shut, afraid that I’d cry, afraid that he’d have gone cold again, afraid of a hundred thousand things that made me numb at the thought of each of them.

He stared at me for a long moment. “Frey,” he said at last. 

I couldn’t answer with words, only managing a small sound in the back of my throat.

“Frey, look at me.” I could hear him moving to stand in front of me. Stupid. He knew he was too tall for me to look him easily in the eye when he stood too close. Only Dylas was taller. But I was furious with him anyway and wasn’t going to think of him now, except maybe about pounding his face in, even if I needed to stand on a chair to do it.

~Please, please, by all that’s holy, please don’t let Leon break up with me.~

“Frey,” he said again, softly, and he lifted my chin with his finger. “I won’t stop saying your name until you open your eyes and look at me,” he added. “Frey.”

I bit my lip. He was trying to be nice now, to be a little cute, so he could let me off easily. I knew it.

“Frey.” 

“Please,” I whispered. 

“Frey.”

“Just...”

“Frey?”

“Just make it quick, so it hurts less,” I whispered, my eyes still shut tight.

“Quick, huh?” He sighed. “Well, if that’s how you want it.” He sounded sad. 

I couldn’t hold back a moment longer. I was about to lose control completely and cry like I hadn’t since who knew when. Certainly, though I’d cried after Venti left, it was always controlled, but now my control was leaving me.

And then something happened, so quickly I wasn’t even sure it had happened, and my eyes opened of their own accord to see Leon’s face less than an inch from mine and then I knew, I was as sure as I had been that I was going to cry a moment before, that he had kissed me. For the first time in more than a year, though we’d played around and kissed on the cheek – well, to be fair, I kissed his cheek, he kissed my forehead – he had well and truly kissed me. It was a butterfly touch, the quick flash of a fox fleeing the hunt in the woods, and it was more than I’d ever imagined possible. 

“Th… That was…”

“Never going to happen again,” Leon said, his eyes going shadowed again, but it was more like the way I was used to seeing them. The coldness had gone out of his voice and his body was less tense, but there was still so much pain in him and my own heart ached in response. Loving him was pure agony, and I wasn’t going to give up a minute of it. Not ever.

He hadn’t moved away. I searched his eyes for a long moment, all too aware of that tiny little teasing trace of a grin on his lips so close to mine.

“No,” I said finally. “It isn’t, is it.” I watched the hinted smile fade with surprise, and the beginning of disappointment, and only then did I lean forward and kiss him back. It was quick and gentle and I savored the feeling of his breath on my lips for a moment more before I pulled away. My face felt hot. I’d never done anything so brazen in my life! It was one thing to hug my boyfriends, or tease them or kiss them on the cheek, but though I’d kissed before since coming to Selphia, I’d never taken the initiative.

“My, my, Frey,” Leon said an eon later. The smile was back, and for the first time in a while, it reached his eyes. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you sometimes.” And then his arms were around me and he crushed me to him in a tight hug, and suddenly all the tears came rushing forth and I couldn’t stop them. They weren’t my tears alone; they were his, and I wasn’t going to stop crying for him because no one had in countless years, even centuries, and damn it he deserved them. 

And what was more, he sensed that it was his tears I was crying, and he said not a word, only easing me down onto the grass mere inches from the lake and we stretched out together as I cried and he held me. Once or twice I thought I felt something fall on my hair, but it was probably just a leaf. 

It was hours later when I finally looked up; I think we’d both fallen asleep. He stirred and looked at me with his bland, teasing smile, and I knew it was all right with us again. 

“I still reserve my original opinion. He ought to be buried,” Leon said, his tone back to his usual smoothly mild, sardonic sweetness.

“He’s the first to call himself a dumbass,” I pointed out. “And I’m going to beat the heck out of him myself.”

Leon looked at me for a moment and sighed. “Damn it. You are just too cute for my own good.”

“Huh?” 

But he only smiled and rose smoothly, offering me a hand. I accepted it gratefully, not because I couldn’t get up easily, but because of what it meant. I knew that things on the surface would shortly be just as they were between us, but inside it felt like something had shifted.

Maybe it was that he was okay with the status quo. Maybe it was that I was okay with it. It didn’t really matter; we were okay together and it was getting late. Besides, I had some horse butt to kick.

“Let’s detour on the way back,” I said suddenly. 

“Okay, but why?” 

I stopped at the airship console, having summoned it, and only grinned. “You’ll see when we get there.” 

He looked perplexed until we disembarked very shortly thereafter. Then he grinned at me, and I grinned back, just as ferally.

We were at the Water Ruins.


	3. The Blame Game

By the time we returned to town, having dispatched Thunderbolt, Chimera, and a whole mess of assorted Goblins and the like, it was extremely late. I was sure that everyone was already asleep; it would soon be sunrise. I was not worried; I’d been known to disappear for more than a day with or without one or two of the townspeople off to kill things randomly, and I figured that, given the events of the day, they’d know enough to leave me alone.

So when Leon followed me around my rooms, watching me put away some things and stash others for shipping the following morning, I was content to speak softly with him of our old familiar nothings, exchanging teases and trying to fluster one another just to see each other blush. It was after five when I said goodnight and sent him home. I wanted nothing more than to hug him again, or better yet to kiss him, but that moment had passed. It was hard enough to get close on our dates; now was certainly not the time. 

Vishnal woke me at six as was customary, but after his usual fiery-eyed “Good morning!” he immediately seemed subdued. 

“Morning,” I mumbled, slightly bleary-eyed. It always took me a second. “Why so serious?” 

“Forgive me, Princess!” He gave up all pretense of control, looking for all the world like he’d just accidentally stabbed a puppy in the eye. “For what I have done, I should be flogged! Flayed! F-Fired!” He was practically vibrating with distress. As fond as I was of Vishnal, he could get a little carried away, though it was clear which he felt was the worst of those punishments for whatever he had done.

“Uh, Vishnal… What are you talking about?” I said slowly, not bothering to hide my own nervousness.

He looked utterly miserable. “That scene yesterday… That was my fault.” And suddenly the switch flipped back on and that weirdly distressed face of his vibrated in front of my eyes. It took some doing but I finally got sense out of him. It seemed that Vishnal blamed himself for that ugly scene between Dylas and Leon, being the one who started the conversation that led to it though his intention had been completely different. Vishnal felt responsible for me, as my self-appointed butler. He had been hoping to sort of feel them out as to whether they were serious about me, and had intended to ask if Dylas’ close friendship with Doug was the reason they’d both agreed to date me, but he never got the chance. 

“Vishnal, you didn’t say anything hurtful. Please stop blaming yourself.” 

“If you say so, Princess,” he said fretfully, somehow looking up at me despite the fact that he was a good deal taller than I. In fact, only Leon and Dylas were taller than he, a fact about which both of them enjoyed teasing me.

The thing was, I hadn’t slept well at all; I’d spent too much time thinking and crying the night before, and being with Leon, and I just wasn’t ready to deal with Vishnal’s hysterics. As adorable as he often was, he just took more stamina than I had that morning, and I had yet to deal with my chores. I promised him that things would work out in time, and he took my words to heart with a sniffle and an unsteady smile. I couldn’t help shaking my head as I ran out to the fields to water my crops and tend to the monsters I’d tamed. Of all the habits for him to pick up from Volkanon…

To my own surprise, I had finished before seven thirty and decided to wander around town to see what was happening. I was sure that everyone would know of the events of the prior afternoon, so decided to see Kiel and Forte first. 

Forte had already stepped out, but Kiel was still home. He greeted me gladly, if a little uncertainly. “Are you all right? We were worried about you!” 

I nodded. “I needed to…” I tried to find the right words.

“Get away before you hurt someone?” He offered the words with his usual innocent smile, but there was a gleam in his eyes that I’d seen before only rarely. Once again I had the feeling that Kiel would not be a good enemy and I was extremely glad he was my friend. I resolved at that moment not to become involved with him either, because if it went sour, I’d really hate to have to flee Selphia.

“Well, yeah, I guess,” I admitted with a sigh. I was embarrassed that he’d seen through me so easily, but I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was delightfully naïve about some things, but ridiculously astute about people. And to be fair, I suppose anyone sane in that situation would also have run. 

“As long as you’re okay. Doug’s pretty upset. Dylas has locked himself in his room and won’t come out. Porco’s worried enough about Dylas that he actually didn’t eat the dinner he sent up for him!”

“Wow!” Dylas must have been in a bad way then… My heart ached, but I steeled my resolve. What he’d said was unacceptable and I was not going to forgive him that easily, no matter how much I loved him. Love isn’t about accepting people’s faults, after all; it’s working with them to get through life as best as you’re able, and working through the hard parts together. 

In fairness, Dylas didn’t know what Leon had told me when we got together and it certainly wasn’t my place to tell him. That didn’t make it okay. Leon would never “keep me to himself” because of a promise he’d made. Somehow, I was an exception… but I was sure that I would never be a complete exception. He had told me that he’d made a decision, once. I was not going to be the one to make him break it.

And I wasn’t going to be the one to go to Dylas either; if he didn’t come out in a few days, I was sure I would cave and approach him, but I was determined to be firm about this. 

Still, I was gratified that he knew how badly he had screwed up. Not that Dylas was the town’s most social resident, but if he had barricaded himself in his room, surely he was indulging himself in a nice heavy round of “I’m such an idiot!” self-kicking. It was one of his favorite pastimes, admittedly, and I’d been hoping that being with someone would help his self-esteem, but apparently he needed more work than I’d been able to provide. 

But Kiel was still talking while I thought about all this. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad. He didn’t even respond to Doug, who was screaming at him for over an hour!”

“Wow,” I said again, not even knowing how to respond to that. Fighting with Doug was Dylas’ favorite thing to do in the whole world, as near as any of us could tell. It wasn’t a good day in Selphia until they had their daily spat. 

“Vishnal’s a complete mess and Arthur feels really badly too. We all do.” Kiel looked at me sadly, attempting a smile. “If there’s anything I can do… I really like you. And I don’t like to see you unhappy.” 

I thanked him, and possessed for a moment by the urge to do so, I hugged him quickly. 

“What!? Oh, uh, what was that for?” he said, blushing as I pulled away.

“Thank you for being such a great friend, Kiel.” I smiled at him, hoping my gratitude showed. It was good to know that people cared about me for my own sake. 

His smile looked oddly sad. “Vishnal wanted to go after you. I told him not to. I thought you were going after Leon, and I don’t think Vishnal could have helped.” 

Not for the first time, I briefly regretted not having taken Kiel more seriously as a romantic prospect. He had a very youthful face, and he looked me in the eye even more easily than Doug, who had almost two inches on me in height. But the mind behind those innocently wide eyes was keen as hell, and he was actually older than Vishnal by nearly two years. What I had said to Leon the night before held true; if it meant keeping the peace, I would gladly date all the eligible bachelors in Selphia, as long as I could stay with him. I knew he would never let me get any closer physically, and eventually I might have to marry someone else if I wanted a family, but my heart would always belong most to him. 

We were so young, and yet he had so much pain inside him, I wondered if I could ever help him heal. If anyone could, for that matter. I wished once again that Venti were around so I could pump her for information, but… 

I shook my head and sighed. “No, you’re right about that. The thought is appreciated though. I should go tell him.” 

Kiel nodded. “Okay, Frey. I’ll see you later!” I turned and left him sorting his papers with a thoughtful expression only to nearly collide with Forte as she came running in. 

“Frey! You’re all right! I’m glad to see that. Kiel told me what happened.” 

“Yes, well… Thank you. I’m fine.” I smiled to show her I really was fine. “I figured everyone would know what happened already.”

“Well, several of us were at Porcoline’s when it happened, too.” She looked distraught, and I sensed that she was embarrassed on my behalf. I nodded, remembering that Vishnal had come from the restaurant, and that he often dined there with Clorica and some of the others. 

“I was all set to cut him down but Meg held me back,” she added, “and she told me that it was not my battle. I just wanted to protect you!” She seemed torn between defiance, frustration, and regret. 

It helped, though. “Thank you,” I said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “Thank you so much. But she’s right. This is something I have to handle myself.” I made a face that expressed exactly how enthusiastic I was about that. 

“Is Leon okay?” she asked after a moment. 

I nodded. “He’ll be fine.” I smiled again, taking a page from his book. She didn’t need the details. “I should get going, though. There are a few things I need to take care of this morning.”

Forte nodded and I waved to Kiel again as I left. Bado was standing outside and greeted me with a cheery wave. “Hey Frey,” he said in his usual mellow manner. “How’s it goin’?”

“About as well as can be expected,” I replied. 

“Oh, you mean with that thing that happened yesterday?”

Even Bado had heard about it? That sealed it; he was usually perfectly happy to be the last to know about gossip that wouldn’t make him easy money. I was officially embarrassed, and less inclined to hold back against Dylas. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go to his room and drag him out by the ear. Vague images of riding tack tumbled about the back of my head, ideas which under any other circumstances I might have dismissed out of hand.

Well, almost any other circumstances. The big lug was a handsome hunk of former-horseflesh… 

Feeling the heat rise on my cheeks, I hoped Bado wouldn’t notice, or would misinterpret it. 

“Yeah. That was some scene, I guess, if everyone’s talking about it.” He shrugged. “Shoulda sold tickets, if it was that good. Might have been an easy way to make money.”

He laughed at my expression then. If looks could kill, he’d have been lying on the floor in shreds. “I’m joking, Frey. Relax. I just wanted to try to make you smile.” His own faded quickly. “I don’t like fighting. I thought I did once, but I was wrong.” Though his words sounded as vague as ever, something in me took note; many times he’d said something right on the border that made me think he wasn’t quite so thickheaded as he worked hard to appear. 

Unlike certain other people I could name.

“I’m going to get back to the forge. I had an idea this morning that I think could make me a lot of money!” He smiled, his usual innocuous smile with no trace of the acutely savvy, sensitive man that I’d just glimpsed. 

I wandered around town, avoiding people for an hour or so. I was trying to make my thoughts settle; more than anything I wanted to find Leon and tie myself to his side all day, literally if I had to. I didn’t care if it would be awkward, especially since he had nearly a foot on me in height. I also knew that it wasn’t the wise thing to do; he was hurting so much and so deeply, and I already knew that my love for him was part of the problem. He’d said as much, when he agreed to become my lover. 

That damned promise! I hated him for it, sometimes, hated myself for rashly going ahead and saying it didn’t matter – not just once, now, but twice. It DID matter. It mattered a lot. But there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. 

I found myself by Eliza for the fifth time in an hour, and decided to see what was on the request board; maybe a jaunt out into the wilds would help clear my head. 

Seven Golems and quite a few other creatures later, I realized that the morning and a good part of the afternoon had largely passed me by. I had indeed lost myself in the mindless release of exercise; I had long since gotten strong enough that even the formidable opponents at Leon Karnak were merely somewhat annoying. It was a little frustrating, if the truth be known; I wanted a challenge that would give me a real workout, but not kill me outright. I just wasn’t quite strong enough yet for most of the things in the higher levels of Sharance maze. I wished something would happen to change the status quo, but I couldn’t imagine what.

I wished Venti would come back.

The thought did me in, and I gave up, knocked out the gate to the Forest of Beginnings and cast Escape repeatedly until I found myself at the gate to the town square, which was full of traffic as everyone was heading home to or out for dinner. It felt like everyone wanted to talk about Leon, Dylas, Doug, and their “little falling out”, except me. Volkanon burst into tears, saying how disappointed he was in Dylas and how he was going to “give that boy a stern talking-to” just as soon as he unbarricaded himself.

Tired of it all, I just went to my room, shoved things in storage or the shipping bin as seemed appropriate, and crawled into my bed, pouring my heart out into my diary.

The next morning, when my chores were done, I headed out into the square only to find Kiel looking excited.

He asked if I’d seen Leon, then told me about having found some papers he wanted the former Guardian to examine. I offered to take them to him myself, which offer Kiel accepted gratefully. 

Usually finding Leon was easy. Most often he was in his rooms at the bathhouse, or fishing somewhere around town, or hanging around Arthur’s or Porcoline’s. He wasn’t in any of his usual spots, and I began to get very worried. I even checked by Keeno Lake, and he wasn’t there. But when I went back to the inn, Xiao Pai was there, and she looked concerned when I asked where Leon was. 

He’d taken two lunches, so she’d thought he’d brought me along with him to Leon Karnak.


	4. Revelations All Around

It was over. Just like that, it was over. Three days after Kiel had asked for the translation of the page he’d found, Leon and I had found the rest of the book, and it was over. 

I wasn’t going to abandon him. We could go on like we always had, but I would only hurt him if I did. I kept my smile bright until I reached the safety of my own room, and not caring that it wasn’t even three in the afternoon, I threw myself on my bed and cried myself to sleep.

When I woke shortly before eight in the evening, I knew I’d be in for it. My sleep schedule would be completely off. It didn’t matter, much; I couldn’t move. I was sick with misery. I was still so angry with Dylas and with Doug, and now Leon was… As good as gone from my life. To spend the rest of my life so close to him, who I had learned to love so deeply… No, of course it wasn’t really love. Not the kind of love that mattered. It was companionship, friendship, attraction… but I would not let it be love.

I rolled over to curl up on my side, my body’s position mirroring my cowering, whimpering mind. 

It was over.

I was sure Dylas and Doug would be happy, they’d get to fight over me between themselves. 

Where the thought might normally have amused me, at the moment, it only made me more miserable. I knew that I could easily be happy with either of them, if I let myself; they genuinely did care about me in their own respective ways. Sometimes I could even believe they cared about me as much as they cared about each other – Leon had called it, sad to say; everyone in town except perhaps Blossom expected Dylas and Doug to ditch me for each other at any moment, and most of us thought she was holding out hope only because she wanted grandchildren, or the equivalent.

For now, however, my misery had discovered my anger and they were feeding on one another. I sat up, suddenly possessed of a need to work out my unhappiness on someone deserving.

It didn’t take me long to get to Porcoline’s. Doug was downstairs, his head on his hands as he sat with Nancy and Jones, who were listening somewhat sympathetically as he mumbled about what an oat-headed, sway-backed horse’s ass Dylas was being. I nodded at them as I passed, making a beeline for the stairs. Porcoline took one look at me from behind the counter and decided to refrain from even greeting me.

I slammed into Dylas’ room, my black mood having worked itself up to a fever pitch. “Dylas, are you still hiding?”

“Go away,” he muttered, curled up in bed with his back to the room.

He sounded so forlorn… My heart suffered a twinge. Still, I kept my resolve – all I had to do was picture Leon. “I’m not going anywhere,” I said, my voice as cold as my hands, “until you tell me what the hell is going on.”

What he muttered next into his arm sounded a lot like, “I don’t… deserve you. Any of you.” 

I didn’t answer. At the moment, I was torn. He deserved better than he was getting, certainly. Usually. After that little comment of his, though… Not that he could have known how deeply his words would hit… Dammit, I was wavering again! I had been all set to tear into him, but his pain at the moment went nearly as deeply as Leon’s. That made it harder. I loved him, and that made it easier. And harder. 

The fact that he had been lying here in bed for more than four days kicking himself over it was uncharacteristic. 

“If you’re so undeserving, you could have just left,” I said, my voice still edgy.

“Yeah, everyone’s just waiting for the horse to bolt,” said a bitter voice behind me. Doug had slipped up the stairs quietly, and was now standing in the doorway with a dark expression.

“Doug,” I said warningly. 

“No, Frey,” he said, but this time his tone was sad. “This affects me, too.” He turned back to Dylas. “Everyone in town is affected, really, but Frey’s right. You could have left if you’re so unhappy here.”

“No, I couldn’t.” At least, I think that’s what Dylas mumbled. He rolled over and turned to us, flinching at the light.

He looked like hell. His hair, normally a thick and glossy mane worthy of pride, was tangled and stringy, hanging limp and messy around his face. His lips were chapped and, like his eyes, were swollen and red, the latter with enormous dark circles underneath – in short, the proud “sullen stallion” was not a pretty picture. Doug and I exchanged a shocked glance. In retrospect, we shouldn’t have been so surprised. The man had been curled up in bed for five days. We could hardly expect him to look as stunning as usual.

“I don’t have anywhere to go.”

~Dammit, Dylas, stop tugging at my heartstrings!~ 

“You guys forget, I don’t know this world. The Selphia I remember… It’s gone for who knows how many hundreds of years. Who knows how much the terrain’s changed, or the towns? I’m not even from this part of Norad. I was born near the capital.” He shrugged. “It was either stay here, or go off alone and probably die.”

“Stop it!” Doug yelled, suddenly up in Dylas’ face. “You don’t tell me you couldn’t have found some way!”

“What do you care!” Dylas yelled back. “You don’t know what it’s like!”

Doug went white. “I damn well do, and you damn well know it! My entire village was killed! I was just a kid!”

Dylas blinked, taken aback. Doug’s raw honesty was reaching him. 

“My father, my clan… All dead. I know we weren’t the only clan of my tribe, but I don’t know where any of the others are. I wouldn’t even know how to start looking. And… until Frey came along, all I really had was Blossom. And I was lying to her. To everyone. And for no good reason.”

“You were protecting yourself as best you could,” I said softly. 

“Yeah well, I was an idiot,” Doug said, less loudly than before. “I was a fifteen year old idiot. When I came here, all I wanted was revenge. I never expected to find… Well, you know.” He shrugged, looking embarrassed.

“Someone to care about?” I asked, smiling at him. 

“Yeah,” he said, reaching for my hand. Dylas flinched, and so I reached to him.

So did Doug. 

We both blinked at him in surprise, but after a moment, Dylas accepted our outstretched hands. 

“Look,” Doug said. “Everyone does stupid crap sometimes. Except maybe Frey, here,” he said with a sudden grin in my direction. My cheeks warmed. “Sometimes, it’s amazingly stupid crap, and sometimes, it’s so numbingly stupid you lock yourself in your room for a week instead of trying to fix it.” Now his grin was a little harsh, though not unforgiving as he turned it on Dylas.

“And sometimes, it’s something you can’t help, but you go on doing it anyway, or feeling it anyway, because it’s just so much a part of you that you don’t know what else to do, even though it’s only hurting you,” I added. 

“That’s true,” Dylas said. Then he and Doug both looked at me. 

“Wait a second, something happened,” Doug said. “Who hurt you? I’ll kick his ass!”

I shook my head, forcing a smile. “No, no, it’s nothing. Please don’t worry about it.”

“Forget that, Frey. If we’re all going to bare our souls, and share our pain, you’re not getting off easy,” Dylas said uneasily. “It has something to do with what I said, doesn’t it.”

I tried to laugh it off, but it fell flat. 

I could see his heart breaking all over again… “No… Not exactly, anyway.” The hollow ache that had been filled by my anger and then concern swelled up inside me again. I clung to the hands of the two men I cared about, so opposite in appearance and so alike at heart. The redheaded dwarf and the tall, blue-maned man squeezed back as one. “I can’t say much about it. It’s not my story… but… but Leon…” My lip was quivering, so I bit it. At the very least, it wasn’t fair to complain about one boyfriend dumping me to the other two. “It’s… It’s over.” I could barely choke out the words, and Doug’s arms were around me and Dylas’ were around both of us. We sat that way on Dylas’ bed for a long moment as I tried really hard not to cry.

“Dude. You reek. Go take a bath,” Doug finally said. 

“Sh-Shut up!” 

That got to me, and while Dylas was torn between indignation and admission, I managed to smile and raised my head from Doug’s shoulder. 

“Well, he has been holed up for almost a week. I think a bath would be a good idea for all of us right now. Let’s all go together.” Still holding their hands, I stood up. 

Two red faced men refused to meet my gaze. “Together, huh?” Doug said with a lascivious grin. “Well, if you insist…”

“You two stay on the men’s side!” I ordered.

They both laughed, a little shakily, as we walked downstairs and I led the way, hands still linked to each of theirs, down the road to the bathhouse.

Admittedly, I would not have minded sharing with them, but it was not a done thing. Even Nancy and Jones managed to endure separate baths when they went together, so surely Doug and Dylas and I could do so as well. We endured the usual comments as we passed a few people, but everyone greeted Dylas as warmly as ever and some of the haunted look began to leave his eyes.

I thought I heard Doug say something about helping Dylas wash his hair as they went to their side.

When we emerged from the bathing rooms at about the same time, I felt much better, and even Dylas was looking much more like himself. They stationed themselves to either side of me, taking my hands again, and asking where we were off to. 

I suggested some exercise, sending a few monsters back to the Forest of Beginnings, to which they both agreed enthusiastically. Immediately, they were on each other about who would hit the hardest, kill the most, and the like. I couldn’t help but to smile and shake my head as I started walking with them back to the airship.

At that moment, Leon was coming out of Arthur’s.

We all stopped. Dylas and Doug stepped in closer, protectively, still holding my hands. Leon looked right through all three of us, nodded a brief greeting, and walked on. 

I couldn’t move. My throat was closed so tightly I couldn’t even breathe. He had just walked right by me – us – as though we were strangers… except for the flash of pain I’d seen in his eyes. My knees wanted to give out.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Doug yelled, his grip on my fingers painfully tight. He glared at Leon. 

“Stop blaming Frey!” Dylas yelled at almost the same instant. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said. I was wrong. And stupid. Don’t make her miserable for my mistake.”

Leon had stopped when they yelled, but only turned back to us when Dylas had stopped speaking. There was still no expression in his voice or features when he spoke. “It was my mistake. Your apology… Hmm. Your apology is accepted, for her sake.” His lips pursed, he looked the three of us over. 

Suddenly, I could feel how it looked to him. He had broken it off with me only that morning – was it really only that morning? It felt like eons… The pain of it was disorienting. And here I was, the same day, holding hands with his two strongest rivals, smiling with them as they argued. Dylas, who had been holed up in his room, was freshly bathed and apparently back in fighting trim. Doug was his usual indomitable self. 

I wanted to die from the pain. And if I was only imagining it from his point of view… But then, he had broken up with me. He was the one who wanted never to be happy again. He had said I should find my own happiness. 

“Leon.” Dylas said, pulling himself up straight. He was a few inches taller even than Leon was, the tallest guy in town bar none. Now he used that to his advantage; though leaner than Leon, he still had an impressive physique and an imposing presence when he chose. “I don’t know what happened, and I’m not gonna ask. It’s not my business. But I’m saying it with her here, and even with Doug as my witness. Hell, he’s even the one who reminded me of that just now.” He ignored Doug’s slightly incredulous look.

“Frey’s saved all of us. The thing that scares me the most is being alone. Really alone. When I became a Guardian… Well, all I’m saying on that score is that there was only one thing keeping me from running away, and that’s the fact that I knew I wasn’t as alone as I felt. I didn’t think of what would happen if it ever ended. I figured the only thing that would happen is I’d die. I never imagined what would happen if I woke up, and everything I ever knew, everyone I’d ever cared about, was gone.

“But it happened. And you know what? There’re four of us in the same boat, and then there’s Doug, who lost it all too. And you know who else?

“Frey,” Dylas said, with a note of finality in his voice. “Frey lost everything, she doesn’t even have her memories, she has nothing but her name, and you know what she did? She agreed to become a princess for a bunch of total strangers on the word of a damn dragon who, for all she knew, would eat her if she said no. Or if she said yes. And she made a home, and a farm, and friends, and saved all our sorry asses. In more ways than one. And if you’re stupid enough to give that up, to give her up, to hurt her…” He shook his head slowly. “Well, then all I can say is you deserve whatever you give yourself.”

Doug was staring at Dylas in unconcealed shock and admiration.

“Well I’ll be damned,” he said, the grin growing on his face. “The horse can talk!” Indeed, it was undoubtedly the most anyone had ever heard Dylas say since he’d come to Selphia.

“Sh-shut up,” Dylas muttered. He turned away, his cheeks red, trying to hide his face behind one hand. 

I squeezed the other so tightly I couldn’t even feel my own fingers. “Dylas…” My eyes were tearing up again. 

Leon stared at him, his expression unreadable, for a long time. “You’re right,” he said at last, and turned away. “I’m sorry.” 

I watched him walk away and enter the bathhouse, his head bowed heavily. A week ago, Dylas had thoughtlessly blurted out one of his own darkest fears, and very nearly broke more than one heart. Now he’d spoken his heart, and it didn’t change anything… but he’d tried. He released my hand only to squeeze me against him, and this time it was Doug who tried to embrace us both. 

“Let’s go back to your place for a minute and I’ll make you something to eat, okay?” Dylas said. “I have a feeling you don’t want to be around everyone right now.”

I nodded into his chest, and the two of them led me through my fields into my room. Doug sat with me on my bed, one arm around me, while Dylas made us all our favorites. 

I noticed that at least one or the other was in physical contact with me at all times since we’d left the bathhouse. Even while we ate, they sat close to me, our knees touching as we all sat tailor-fashion on my big bed. Though it was getting late, I wanted to check the request board in case there were any deliveries. They both came with me, and so they were there when I saw Kiel and waved in greeting.

Kiel came over and seemed happy to see Dylas out and about. Then he lowered his voice a little as he admitted his worries over Leon and telling me that something about the book was still bothering him. The symbols on the bottom of each page seemed out of place to him somehow, but he had no ideas. 

I thanked him and he continued on his way home. Doug and Dylas looked at me with concern. 

I shook my head; it was late and I was tired. Deciding against checking with Eliza after all, I told them I just wanted to sleep. 

“We’ll stay with you,” Doug said, even though I told them both to go home.

“Just through the night,” Dylas said. “We’ll go home in the morning.”

They were insistent, and though I argued with them, they would not budge.

“Now make room, Princess,” Doug said with a leer. “It’s goin’ to be a crowded bed in here. That nag could take it all up all by himself.”

“Why I oughta –“ Dylas stopped himself, making an incoherent sound of anger as Doug exploded into great gasps of laughter. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he howled, and Dylas glowered and glared. Eventually I couldn’t help but giggle myself as I crawled into bed, and they wrapped their arms around me from either side and I finally fell asleep, wrapped in a warm sandwich of affection.

In the morning, it turned out that they’d lied to me. They didn’t go home after we woke, staying with me as I watered my fields and tended to my tamed monsters. They followed me while I chopped wood and broke up rocks into usable material stone, and tossed weeds into the composting bins, and generally tended to the tasks I’d neglected over the last few days. Sometimes they were quiet, and sometimes they were teasing and cajoling, and sometimes they bickered, but they weren’t going to leave me alone with my thoughts. 

Feeling a bit tired, I decided I wanted to take a bath again. I let the guys walk with me, but when we arrived at the bathhouse I chased them off, threatening to let Vishnal use them as taste testers next time he got to cooking, and walked into the bathhouse. 

Xiao Pai seemed happy to see me, at least, but she was also concerned. She was worried about me and Leon both, she said… She told me he’d gone to the lake. Torn, I decided to bathe first, though my mind was once again racing and my heart tormented. 

Then I went to Selphia Lake, to find Leon staring into the water, looking as lost and alone as I’d ever seen him. My heart ached and my resolve stiffened. 

I went to him.


	5. A Moment of Happiness

And just like that, from the depths of despair, convinced we would forever be cursed to be apart, Leon and I had found ourselves transported into a whirlwind of intensity that left us both breathless and ecstatic. 

He had not broken his promise, because it had been broken for him – and the results were all he could have hoped for. At last, he could seek happiness, and Leon wasn’t one to do things by halves… The next hours passed by in a rush; somehow in a matter of hours I had a dress, Leon had a tuxedo, and we would be married in the morning. 

I did not remember anything from the moment I said yes. I could not say how I got the dress, or when I got into bed. The next clear memory I had was talking to Volkanon about how excited and happy he was as he adjusted my veil and made sure everything was just exactly so. 

I stepped out into the square, and was surprised to find it empty. I knew that I was to meet Leon and we were to go around and greet everyone, but I had imagined they’d all be there. 

Then I heard his familiar step approaching the sqaure.

I turned to face him as he entered the area, my entire body afire with the love I felt for him, and froze.

“Leon…” I hissed. “You take that stupid thing off right now!”

I could hear him laughing from behind the pumpkinhead mask I’d given him a while back. “Are you sure? I think it’s the perfect accessory for this outfit,” he smirked. I could hear him smirk.

“Right. Now!” I wanted to hit him. How could he do this to me? How could he ruin my wonderful wedding day? 

He took the mask off, still grinning. Somehow his hair was perfect underneath it, and he wore none of his priestly vestments. Instead, he was decked out deliciously in a white tuxedo with a blue cravat. Every inch of him but his face was covered, and I sighed inwardly. He had a body worth displaying… and I loved when he displayed it. I could tell he felt slightly uncomfortable in the constrictive clothing, though, and my temper eased. Then he came toward me, shaking his head slowly. 

From the moment I’d first laid eyes on him, I was intrigued. He was one of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen, and he was in very, very good physical condition. But he held himself so tightly, so closed in… Now, though his posture hadn’t really changed, there was something different – and it wasn’t just the lack of that silly – sorry, priestly hat of his. He seemed… calmer. 

I watched him, as entranced as he looked.

The wedding proceeded, and I went through it almost in a haze, supported more by his arm and the strength of his unbridled love than my own legs. I tried not to notice the hurt in Doug’s eyes, or Dylas’. In turn, they both tried not to let me see it. I could not avoid the sad understanding in both of their expressions, however. Arthur kept his so carefully neutral, but in his eyes I could see the light of his happiness on my behalf – and the shadows of his own pain. 

There had never been any question in their minds of my love for Leon. I was the one who had doubted, who had given in to insecurity and grief. It was my fault that I had almost allowed the end to come, that I had not pursued the matter further, or asked him about the pattern on the pages earlier. If I had, we might have been spared the pain.

They were happy for my happiness, and they understood that it was as over as it could be between each of us. I still cared for them and always would, but as Leon and I made our way around town, speaking to everyone, I knew that I had made the right choice for myself. Leon was magnanimous with his former rivals, not saying a word about who got to keep me for himself, only accepting their congratulations with aplomb and a fond, teasing word. Only when we spoke with Lin Fa and Xiao Pai was it impressed on me how deeply he was affected. Xiao Pai actually teased him – and left him flustered! Seeing Leon, normally so debonair and nonchalant, reduced to an uncertain youth was absolutely the most adorable thing I’d ever yet seen from this man who was utterly adorable to me, sometimes in spite of himself.

I love it when he blushes. It makes me feel happy, especially since I’ve never seen anyone else able to do it to him. I guess that’s why he does it to me -- not that I’ve ever been that forgiving of him for it, but at least I understand it. 

Before long, it was over, and he was there in my rooms – no. Our rooms. My rooms with my husband. Leon, my husband. My husband Leon! My sweet, sexy, needy, uncertain, silly, witty husband Leon. I lost myself in my husband’s kisses, feeling safe and protected and warm and loved and as happy as I could ever imagine feeling. I wanted the moment to go on forever, leaving me alone with the man I loved most in the world in perfect happiness. 

Sadly, all moments must pass, and at last we came up for air. We spoke, setting some ground rules for each other – just the basics, really. Then I remembered that I still had work to do and to my surprise realized it wasn’t even eleven o’clock yet. 

With a sigh, I entered the fields to tend my crops and the monsters in the barn. When I’d finished, I went back inside to discover Leon had made me lunch. Then he asked if he could stay with me, so I acquiesced gladly and we wandered around town, visiting with everyone and basking in each other’s nearness.

The next couple of weeks were more of the same, Leon often insisting on staying with me all day, making lunch for me – he was usually up even before me and had it ready by six in the morning! Sweet, masochistic man. He showed his feelings for me openly and often, which was quite a change from the reticent teasing I’d endured for so long. I reveled in it, becoming more comfortable with teasing him. I enjoyed getting a rise out of him as much as he enjoyed doing the same to me, and it didn’t seem to put him off.


	6. A Lifetime of Love

He wasn't there when I fainted.

It hadn't happened in a long time; I'd built up my strength quite a lot since my first bewildered weeks in Selphia, so many seasons ago.  But one day I'd been in a bit of a bad mood, so I'd decided to go out and take it out on some (probably undeserving) monsters, and had ended up staying out all night.  When morning came, I realized I wouldn't make it home before dawn, so I simply headed straight to the fields and began to water the crops.

I hadn't realized my energy was quite as low as it was, however, and things went very dark for a moment...

I didn't think it was that long, but the next thing I knew, I heard Arthur's voice, and Clorica's; there were others, but it was Arthur who stayed next to me and smoothed my hair and just talked to me quietly until Jones and Nancy arrived.  They all kept telling me not to move, and for once I was content to listen.  I heard Clorica say something to him about having an appointment, but he shrugged it off, said they could wait. 

"I'm okay.  Go," I said.  "I'm just dizzy."  I was more than “just” dizzy; when I tried to open my eyes I was pretty sure that the world was going to spin out of control. 

I felt his hand on my hair once more; his touch was gentle, and then I heard him move away.  “Nancy and Jones should be here any minute now,” he said, almost as if he were trying to reassure himself even more than me.

“Thanks,” I said, grateful for the relative coolness of the ground against my cheek. 

I kept reassuring everyone that I was fine, I had not hit my head, I just needed to rest a little…  No one seemed to be buying it, and Leon wasn’t there.  I wished for him, but he didn’t appear.  Nancy and Jones came, checked me out, and bore me off to the clinic; by the time we arrived, though, I was able to sit up and focus.  I was still tired and dizzy but I knew that if I just took it easy I’d be okay.

Margaret insisted on feeding me; I think if I’d let her she’d have done it herself.  As it was she brought me breakfast (which I admittedly had missed) and checked in on me every five minutes to see if I’d been eating.  Only after I’d cleaned my plate and she checked under the table to make sure I hadn’t ditched the food did she back down… and still there was no sign of my Leon.

I wanted him.  I wanted his arms around me, reassuring and strong.  I knew I didn’t really need him there, but I wanted him…  and his absence saddened me.  I’d thought for sure he’d notice I hadn’t come home, at least, and come looking for me.

But he found me, later in the morning, after I’d eaten and rested and gone back to work – slowly, of course, and with Vishnal and Clorica checking on me regularly.  It was Clorica who chased me out of the fields to make sure I ate lunch. 

Only after I had eaten and had returned to finish up in the fields did Leon appear...  and even from across the field I could tell he was angry.

His eyes burned into mine as he stood over me, seething silently.  I smiled up at him, brightly at first, but my genuine happiness at seeing him rapidly faltered as he continued to glare. 

“L-Leon?” I ventured timidly.

“I’m not even going to ask,” he said coldly. 

He knew me too well; my mind raced with the possibilities of just what it was he wasn’t going to ask.  Was it about not having had him summoned?  About my fainting in the first place? 

“I’m okay, I promise,” I said quietly, all the joy gone.  All I knew was that he was unhappy with me.  I felt as though I’d disappointed him.  “I’m sorry.”  I was no more certain of the real reason behind my apology than I was of what he wasn’t asking.

“Just don’t do it again,” he said finally, his tone harsh.  He continued to stare down at me, and I had to lower my gaze as the tears came unbidden to my eyes.

“I couldn’t bear to lose you,” he said suddenly, his voice barely a choked whisper as the arms I’d longed to feel around me all day were suddenly there, warm and strong and keeping me safe in his tight embrace.  I endured it gladly, but he didn’t ease his grip; crushed against his chest I was finding it just a little hard to breathe.

“L-Leon…  I c-can’t… breathe…” I choked out.  He released me at last, though his hands stayed at my shoulders.

“Sorry, Love…  Look at me.”  I took a deep breath to try to stop my lip from quivering and raised my gaze to his uncertainly.  Our eyes locked and I saw that his anger was worry.  “I don’t want to lose you.  I waited over a thousand years to find you.  There’s no way I’m going through that again,” he said, his lips curving in that familiar smirk he called a smile.  “So if you don’t start taking care of yourself, I’m going to have to do it for you.”

“Does that include taking care of the fields, and the monsters?” I asked, all innocence.

He chuckled, seeing right through me.  “Not on your life,” he said, pulling me back into his arms.  This time his grip was not so tight. 

“I’ll tell you what.  I’m going to go to Porcoline’s to pick up something for dinner.  Why don’t you go wait for me in bed?

“But Leon, it’s not even three in the afternoon yet!”

“I know,” he murmured, his lips against my ear.

“O-oh,” I gasped, my face heating up instantly. 

He chuckled again, kissing me on the jawline for good measure.  “Still care to argue?”

“N-no,” I admitted, “but it is still the middle of the day…!”

“So?  Your chores are done, aren’t they?”  I nodded.  “And you don’t have anywhere particular you need to be, do you?”  I shook my head.  “So go get comfortable, and I’ll be along shortly.  After all, I want to make sure you get plenty of rest so this doesn’t happen again,” he said, the severity creeping back into his tone as his arms tightened just a little. 

True to his word, he managed to keep me in bed until the following morning; somehow he’d gotten up before me and prepared a lunch like he always did.  I accepted it along with his stern reminder to “eat it, and don’t try giving it away.”  He knew me too well.  At least it was Tempura Udon, which I really liked.  I actually enjoyed everything he made, though he sometimes made things with onions, which I loathed – but he usually remembered to leave them out for me; when he didn’t, I knew he was trying to get to me. 

He invited himself along with me; when I called him on it, he didn’t bother to deny that he wanted to keep an eye on me.  “After yesterday’s little episode, Love, I want to be sure that you’re fully recovered.”

“Leon, you didn’t even let me get up to freshen up.  You insisted on carrying me to the bathroom.  I promise you, I’m fine…  Unless you want to tend to the fields _for_ me,” I said, smiling brightly at him.

He laughed at that.  “You’d trust me with your fields and your pets?  I hardly pay any more attention than they need to mine anymore.  And as for the fields, I lack your expert touch.  I’d either overwater or leave them too dry, and then you’d be upset with me.  Even though it wouldn’t be on purpose.”

I sighed and tugged him down for a kiss.  “That’s true.  You can’t even take care of the houseplants I got.”  Capturing his lower lip between my teeth, I smiled up at him.  “Guess you’ll have to make it up to me later.”  He raised an eyebrow but only chuckled, and I released him to follow me about the fields on my daily chores. 

It didn’t take very long; the monsters were on their good behavior today.  They’d sensed something wrong yesterday, I gathered from what Vishnal had told me, and allowed me to brush them and harvest their products with a minimum of fuss.  Leon helped me carry things to the shipping bin, otherwise hovering just behind me with a proprietary and protective air – as though there were anyone to see him do so, except for Clorica when she came by to pick up the shipment for the day.

“Hello!” she said happily, if drowsily.  “You two look so cute together, and Leon’s following you around just like a big puppy!”

“He’s just dogging my footsteps,” I replied.  Leon glared but Clorica blinked at me and giggled. 

Having processed the shipment, she waved and wandered off to her next task, and I turned to Leon.  “Let’s go check out the request box.  If you want to play nursemaid to me all day, I’m afraid you’re going to have to put up with the obligations I have to fulfill!”

“I’m not playing nursemaid.  I’m guarding you.  I am, after all, a Guardian.  Or I was.  Every Guardian needs something to guard, right?  And you’re mine.”  He said the last with a smug, superior smile, looking so proud of himself, that I had to laugh.  “So I’m only fulfilling my own obligation.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Thanks for making me feel so special,” I said dryly.

“But you are special, Love.  Special enough that I won’t let you go.  Ever.”  The humor faded from his expression, leaving a fierce tenderness that hinted at his anger from the day before.  “If I have to spend every waking moment making sure that you’re taken care of properly, I’ll do it.”

“Leon…”  I was touched, but also a little annoyed.  “I’m hardly the same fragile little amnesiac who fell out of the sky.  I’ve built a life for myself here.  I’ve come a long way; even you have to admit that.”

“That’s why I promised to protect you.  Love…  Frey…  You have to understand how much you mean to all of us, here.  Especially to me.  Without you…  Well, without you this world would not be the same.  Even Venti…”  His earnest expression faltered briefly; I could see he missed her as much as I did. 

“I know, Darling.  I miss her too.  But until a way is found to get into the Forest of Beginnings, there’s nothing we can do.  Arthur and Kiel are doing as much research as you are.  Even Barrett’s been looking into things.  And as for what this world would be like without me…”  I sighed.  “Sometimes I wonder what my family is like.  Do they miss me?  Do I have any siblings?  Are my parents still alive?  At least I know one thing; I wasn’t married before.”  I blushed and he smiled.

“And if you were, he certainly wasn’t holding up his end of the bargain,” Leon teased me, which only made my blush worse.  “You’re so cute.”

“Stop it, Leon!”  I protested, and he laughed again as he pulled me into his arms.  “You know that’s not fair… and you didn’t know much more about it than I did!”

Now it was his turn to blush and he turned his gaze aside.  I had later admitted that I’d overheard a particular conversation between him and Arthur, two days before the wedding.  He was embarrassed, but I was flattered – and I thought it was adorable that he’d cared so much as to actually unbend his pride enough admit to Arthur his inexperience in that area.

_“…I have no father I can ask such things anymore.  I can hardly see Volkanon answering questions along those lines, and asking Porcoline strikes me as…  Well…”_

_Arthur had chuckled.  “What about Bado, or Jones?”_

_Leon’s tone had been utterly bewildered.  “Jones would be far too technical…  But you think Bado knows anything about… marital relations??”_

_“Well, he_ was _a legendary knight.  I find it hard to believe he did not partake of at least_ some _of the ‘fringe benefits…’_

I hadn’t been able to stay and listen anymore, too embarrassed myself by the subject matter, but it did make for some interesting fodder to tease my husband with later on.  I never admitted it to Arthur, however…  Though I didn’t doubt that he’d have a few choice things to say on the subject, and neither Leon nor I would ever live it down with him.  As kind as he was, he could be as merciless a tease as my husband.

Nor was I going to tell him about the conversation I’d had with Lin Fa, Blossom, Illuminata, and Nancy on a similar subject.  I knew I’d never hear the end of it either.

“Well, we’ve both learned a lot since, anyway.  And I have a few ideas…”  He pulled me closer, warm affection in his eyes not contrasting with the wicked grin spreading across his lips.

“Help!  Help!” I cried out, laughing.  “Didn’t you promise to protect me?”

“Oh, but I am protecting you.  I shall never let you feel a moment’s loneliness, or sadness, or any unhappiness at all, without being here for you.”  He held me so that he could meet my eyes now, and the playfulness had gone out of him again.  “I will not pretend that I can keep you safe from all pain and heartache, but I promise that I shall never let you suffer alone.” 

I returned his fierce embrace.  My throat was tight as I whispered, “I promise the same, Leon.  I will never let you be lonely again.  Ever.”   

I listened to the beating of his heart, strong and true, and knew that our promises would be kept to the very end.

 


End file.
